Pickup "clicks"

Hey , so heres the deal. I've switched over from my peavey TL5 to a musciman and one major diff Iv'e noticed (Other than how much better it sounds) is the the pole pieces on the pickup are exposed and whenever I either really dig in or slap I end up smacking the strings against the poles which result in a "click or pop". One other factor is that I can only get comfortable playing directly over the pickup and just in front of it for slapping..

SOooo.. (yes there is a question fret not) how low can I lower the pup without comprimising my lovely tone? I figure it will lower my output volume slightly , but thats not a big deal... Any suggestions..???

instead of lowering the pickup, have you thought about raising the action? or maybe a combination of both? On any bass that I play mostly fingerstyle, I raise the action pretty well because I have a pretty heavy handed style, and I really dig on it... so I had the same problem. I often raise the action some and lower the pup some... once you start changing pickup height, action, go slowly and pay attention to the tone... you should be able to tell when you have gone to far!

You might try putting something that is magnetically transparent between the strings and the pickup to prevent contact. For example, you may have seen some high end basses (F bass comes to mind) that have a wood veneer on the pickups. Something like that or some flexible clear plastic, kind of like thick transparent tape, if you don't want to alter the looks too much.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I've been playing quite a while (13 years) and most of those years were on my Peavey bass. I think it has mostly to do with adjusting to a new Bass rather than changing my technique. I was really looking for an answer on the negative impact of lowering a pickup, like less volume, pehaps a thinner sound without messing with it first. Also, I really dont want to change the action of the strings, I really like it as low as possible and I have it at a really comfortable level now. I've slowly been adjusting and found more volume on the amp helps me play easier, which in turn reduces the contact with the pickups. As far as slapping goes, thats going to need to be changed. I've been trying it out over the top of the fret board and so far it sounds pretty good, though feels funny.

Well... I was... I am not a big slap player.. My other bass was a 24 fret neck, and I think my hand was more postioned over the neck, where with the ray it seemed like I had to move my hand far to slap over the fret board.. I am working on this technique for now.. is this what I should be doing?

well, i might suggest that you could try different strings.. i have my stingray setup pretty damn close to the stock setup specs, and my strings dont hit the pole pcs no matter where i slap (i tend to slap between the pickup and neck, usually closer to the neck sometimes right over the neck pocket)..

maybe you would preferr a string with more tension?

so far, i like the dr sunbeams and i wouldnt even consider them a high tension string... but i could be wrong.

On both of my G&Ls, I have strings that are either low tension (TI Jazz Rounds) or quite flexable (TI Powerbass), and when I dig in they do click against the poleipeces, as I like the tone when the pickups are set at a nice med-high. I solved the problem by putting strips of electrical tape over the tops of the pickups. From any distance, they just look like barts or emgs or any covered pickup, the tone isn't affected at all, and no more pops thumps and clicks.

Electrical tape is good. If you don't like the look, a couple dabs of thick superglue will do (just cover the poles almost out to the edge, no need to get glue down the side of the poles or on the pickup casing).

Originally posted by bassman134 Well... I was... I am not a big slap player.. My other bass was a 24 fret neck, and I think my hand was more postioned over the neck, where with the ray it seemed like I had to move my hand far to slap over the fret board.. I am working on this technique for now.. is this what I should be doing?

Click to expand...

yep. your thumb should make contact right near the last fret on the board. that way it takes less effort to slap, and you can do it more cleanly and faster.